In the build-up to Halloween, Epic Games’ Nightmarish Patch 1.8 has gone live, bringing a host of new quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new content to Fortnite Battle Royale.

Patch 1.8 is the biggest patch launched for the game as yet, not only tweaking game performance and balancing gameplay itself, but also adding brand new content, both in the form of new weapons and items and also purchasable cosmetic items too. Microtransactions are purely aesthetic and offer no competitive advantage. Outfits and custom skins – which include neat Halloween-themed apparel – can be equipped in the new locker screen prior to starting a match (they do not carry over to the Save the World PvE campaign. But there’s also a way to customize your character without having to pay via the all-new seasonal level system. Seasons will give the player a chance to level-up their character and earn unique seasonal rewards and banner flair. The first season will give players a chance to level up to 100, with player level displayed on their banner.

Furthermore, leaderboards have finally arrived, divided into different categories:

Division leaderboard
A division is a group of 50 active players competing against each other to see who will take top the spot.
You are automatically assigned to a new division each week.
Each match type (Solo, Duos and Squads) gets its own separate division.

Friends leaderboard
Compare yourself to your friends by turning on “Friends Only” on the leaderboard screen.
All leaderboards reset weekly on Wednesdays. Only players on your platform are included in the rankings. Expect improvements in upcoming releases.

Other notable changes include the addition of “Slurp Juice”, a regeneration potion that grants one health and one shield per second for 25 seconds. This item was alluded to in the previous developer update by the Fortnite Battle Royale team, and it should come in very handy during the late game when the shrinking circle forces players together in intense firefights. Not only that, now ammunition and resources will automatically pick up, rather than having to sift through things manually. And now you won’t have to use third party voice chat systems on console — voice chat is finally available on console.

The full patch notes can be found here, but we’ve listed the patch highlights below:

HIGHLIGHTS

Introducing “Slurp Juice,” a regeneration potion that grants 1 health and 1 shield per second for 25 seconds.

You can now customize your character, banner, and equip any cosmetics in the new Locker menu.

Voice chat comes to Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Players will now auto-pickup ammo, building resources, and traps.

New graphics are visible to players who are caught outside the Storm safe zone, and the storm wall visuals have been updated.

New Halloween skins are on sale in the newly implemented store, and will only be available until 11/4.

Use V-bucks to purchase items from the store.

Character Skins

Skull Trooper

Ghoul Trooper

Weapon Skins

Reaper Skin – Pickaxe

The new “Combat Pro” controller config is aimed at keeping the user’s thumbs on the sticks as much as possible so they can make fast weapon swaps and build quickly.

Fortnite Battle Royale is a one hundred player, last man standing multiplayer game in which players parachute from a “Battle Bus” and fight for survival in an island setting. The mode incorporates the base-building system from the main game, allowing players to construct defenses and traverse to different areas of the map. Twinfinite has written a strategy guide with helpful tips for new players, as well as a description of the best areas to find chests.